This is the heartwarming moment a group of fishermen rescued a puppy stranded at sea.

The anglers spotted the hapless brown pooch swimming in the open water in Zhejiang Province, China.

Concerned for its safety, the group immediately worked to retrieve the canine on January 19.

Footage shows the animal paddling towards the boat while the men use a long pole with a net on the end to reach it.

They can be seen struggling to lift the dog from the water, but after a laborious effort to save the pooch, they successfully retrieved it to safety.

One of the anglers said: 'We managed to haul the dog onto the boat after several minutes of trying to reach him. We have since adopted him and named him Xiao Huang.'

The dog did not sustain any injuries from what happened and is now settling into his new home.